The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) and the Kenya Aviation Workers Union (KAWU) are at loggerheads over Sh7 million agency fees paid by non unionized members.
The members have petitioned the KAA management to stop the deductions which has angered KAWU.
KAWU officials led by secretary general Moss Ndiema has threatened unspecified action on the management which had ordered the human resource management to stop deductions of the fees.
More than 170 workers who are not unionized petitioned the management to stop deducting their money to the union as agency fees.
They contribute a staggering Sh7 million to the union monthly which is unaccounted for.
The Kenya Aviation Workers Union Secretary General Moss Ndiema (centre) leading his members during a media briefing at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi on July 23, 2026.
Ndiema did not respond to calls and texts on the new developments.
KAWU had argued the non unionized members usually benefit from agreed Collective Bargaining Agreements hence the need for them to remit the fees.
But the affected workers have opted not to be deducted.
The union and the management are also at loggerheads over its style of leadership. Sources indicate that KAA Management has formally asked KAWU to provide details of its current office bearers, citing the need to clarify the union’s leadership. KAA management is said to have asked KAWU Secretary General to formally submit the names and designations of its duly elected officials for the Authority’s records.
The request comes against the backdrop of the 2026 trade union election cycle and follows an earlier request from the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection.
The correspondence comes as trade unions across the country undertake leadership elections under the Labour Relations Act, 2007, which requires union officials to be elected through secret ballot at least once every five years.
The Office of the Registrar of Trade Unions has directed unions to comply with their registered constitutions and submit election-related information to the relevant labour authorities within prescribed timelines.
The Registrar has also warned that failure to comply with the law and registered union constitutions could attract sanctions.
KAWU represents unionisable employees in the aviation sector, including workers employed by the Kenya Airports Authority.
The Registrar said officials of trade unions, employers’ organisations and federations are required to be elected at least once every five years, with the previous elections having been held in 2021. Under the schedule issued by the Registrar, branch elections were to be held between January 5 and March 31, 2026, while national elections were scheduled for April 1 to June 30.
The timelines are particularly important because the elections of the Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) must be completed by August 30, 2026.
The Registrar directed unions to strictly comply with their registered constitutions and ensure members receive adequate notice of election requirements and polling venues.
The unions have also been directed to update their membership registers at both branch and national levels before the elections.
For unions whose constitutions provide for elections to be supervised by the Commissioner for Labour, certified copies of membership registers must be submitted to the Commissioner for Labour for national elections and to the respective County Labour Officers for branch elections at least 60 days before polling.
Such unions must also provide certified copies of their constitutions to the relevant labour officials. The Registrar cautioned that amended constitutions whose implementation has been blocked by a court order cannot be used for the elections unless the court issues an alternative order.
Where union constitutions establish election boards or committees, the bodies must be constituted in accordance with the relevant constitutional provisions, with the necessary documents submitted to the authorised election supervisors.
Only fully registered and paid-up members will be eligible to vote. The Registrar said members who merely pay agency fees without being union members will not be allowed to participate in the elections.